The Me 262 was the first operational jet powered aircraft. It saw limited action during the latter period of the Second World War. During development, the Me 262 saw many potential improvements including the HG series. The HGlll would have seen the wings swept to a greater degree of 45 degrees with the engines being moved inboard to merge with the fuselage sides with the intakes swept to match. The tail fins would have also been swept to the same angle.
This design planned to use two Heinkel HeS011A engines but these were continually delayed. Wind tunnel models were made and tested and promised a very fast fighter for the time.

THE KIT

Type: Resin

The kit's contents are:
24 Resin parts
1 Vacuform canopy
Decals

MAIN PARTS

All the larger parts are moulded/cast in the usual buff resin. They seem to be of an even greater quality than Planet's usual already high standard with very good detailing with excellent crisp panel lines.
Although there are a tiny group of pin prick air bubbles just behind the port side cockpit opening on the fuselage side, no real problem to fix, but this is a rare occurrence on a Planet kit.
(Red Circle on pic)

Also the trailing edges of the wings taper to wafer thin and have slight faults due to the extreme thinness. The remedy seems to be a bit more sanding than is desirable and maybe a plastic card replacement for trim tabs would be required as they will all but disappear with the sanding. I assume this is on my example only.
(Red Arrows on pic)

The fuselage, engines and tail fin come in one big piece which will need a fair bit of drilling out to prevent tail sitting.
(Yellow Arrows on pic)

The one area that needs a bit of careful profiling and shaping is the extreme nose-tip which has an unfortunate casting stub to get rid of. So extreme care is necessary to retain the profile.
(Red Arrow on pic)

However, everything else looks very good - but all parts will need a good wash in soapy water and clean up for edges and getting rid of a little flash.

The fit of the wings to the fuselage look good but as the joint is flush fit, they may benefit from a little brass rod reinforcing along the weak points.

SMALL PARTS

The small parts on this Planet have dispensed with the usual thin flash wafer and all come attached to the casting blocks, so careful removal with a fine razor saw is required, as is a little detail clean up such as flash fill-in in the little voids. There is some detailing in the cockpit area, such as seat belts moulded into the seat. The instrument panel, joystick and foot pedals are supplied, but for those who like detail, an after market detailing kit would not go amiss. And as it's based on the usual Me 262, any late version detail kit would suffice.

While the undercarriage legs look good, as they are also in resin, they may not prove strong enough to support the weight of the main aircraft. The fuselage/engine assembly looks like it will be heavy, even after drilling out, so the undercarriage legs would need reinforcing or scratchbuilt (brass rod) replacements.

CLEAR PARTS

One vacuformed canopy is provided. The part is clear with good frame marking, but would benefit a little from Future/Klear bathing.

INSTRUCTIONS & DECALS

The more recent Planet models have seen an improvement in the quality of the assembly instruction diagrams and the Me 262 HG happily follows this trend. The instructions consist of one two sided photocopied sheet with the assembly instructions on one side with camo/scheme guide, parts list and history summary on the reverse.

The decals cover all main insignia and numbers and include swastikas. The quality looks very good with nice thin decals with good colour definition and register.

Additional stencilling and markings would need an after-market decal sheet, for any late-war normal Me 262.

CONCLUSION.

This is quite an expensive kit for the type and size, but it should will make up into a beautiful model, in spite of the slight faults and areas that need a little extra care to fix. I can only repeat that these faults may only be on my example. I think on balance, due to the large amount of drilling out of the fuselage and the probable reinforcing of the undercarriage legs needed, this kit is better left for the more experienced. Although with extra care and patience a brave beginner would not find it too difficult to master.
This kit is definitely a must for Luft '46 fans and for those who love the Me 262 and its development plans.